From "Outboard Motor Tips & Tricks"

We all have experienced it, you've had a great day sailing, the sun is setting, you're nearing the breakwater and it's time to fire up the motor. You lower it into the water, pull the starting cord and nothing happens. What could POSSIBLY go wrong with something as simple as a one cylinder outboard motor

There's a long list of things that can be at fault here. I'm going to try to narrow it down to the handful of issues that usually are responsible for this dilemma

First and foremost, these little engines are prone to flooding at the drop of a hat. They don't have fuel injection like your car, opting instead of the good old fashioned carburetor. The key point here is that good care must be taken to avoid doing things to the engine that will flood it. Regardless of the weather/temperature conditions, people invariably step about a small boat, pull out the choke and wail away at the pull starter until the engine starts. Using this process there's a good likelihood that the engine won't start at all. The 'choke' is designed to choke off, or restrict the amount of air that runs through the carburetor. Less air means more fuel, a good thing in cold or damp conditions but far less desirable on our normal, sunny day. Using the choke on a fair weather day simply puts TOO much fuel into the engine. Too much fuel is as big a problem as too little fuel. Best common practice when starting an outboard, regardless of conditions (particularly if you've already run the motor or it's a nice warm day) is to simply go through the pre-start checklist, withOUT using the choke and you'll likely have no trouble at all.

Another culprit responsible for flooding the motor is the internal tanks incorporated into their design. In order to allow these engines to tilt out of the water, the manufacturer installed a fuel valve and screw vent on the tank. This provides the necessary shutoff components to insure that no fuel escapes the tank into the fragile Bay waters. On a warm day, as a result of the heat, the internal fuel tanks pressurize considerably. If the fuel valve isn't securely closed, this will allow fuel to slip by the slightly open valve and fill the motor. You may have noticed on a warm day when you open the vent you hear the telltale hiss, like you just opened a bottle of soda, escape the tank. There is no real fix for this problem, just don't use the choke as there is PLENTY of fuel (often too much) in the engine already.

People often ask if they can have a reserve supply of fuel in a plastic gas can to take along. We can't provide this as any fuel container on the vessel must be in a marine approved tank, vented to the exterior of the vessel an incapable of separating from the engine. The fines involved in this type of violation makes it impossible for us to pursue this as a remedy for the short fuel supply carried within the internal tank. In reality, most people use WAY too much throttle on these motors. 1/4 throttle pushes these boats at 3/4 of their potential speed. You use up the other 3/4 of throttle attaining the remaining 1/4 of speed. These motors are designed to get the boat in and out of the harbor and were never intended to power the boat over to Angel Island or Sausalito. The vessels with inboard diesels are much better suited to that purpose.

Finally, there's a few things you can do to make your outboard more reliable, perform better and be more fuel efficient. Always pull the motor out of the water when sailing making sure you close the fuel valve securely and the tank vent. Make sure the engine is cooling properly. There should be a small stream of water squirting out of the rear of the motor. If not, either something is plugging the water impeller or the impeller itself is damaged. Finally, make sure you follow the checklist to the right before you start the engine, while under sail and final stowage of the motor at the end of your sail.

From "Meet the Crew"

Always a friendly voice on the phone, and a cordial spirit at the counter our scheduling coordinator, Walter Scott Martin is one of the cogs in the great machinery of Spinnaker Sailing. In a recent interview with Walter we were able to ask some of the questions that have been on our minds.

Q. Walter, why do you drink so much coffee?
A. Besides working here at Spinnaker I am also a full time student. This semester I am taking 17 units and I find that coffee helps.
Q. How do you unwind at the end of the day?
A. Since I was 18 sailing has been my therapy. There is nothing more relaxing than spending a few hours on the water. Sailing is wonderfully committed. If you are an hour out it's going to take you at least an hour to get back.
Q. What do you do at Spinnaker.
A. I am administration. I am responsible for scheduling charters, classes, students, teachers, and events. I get direct access to all of our Club Members and really enjoy making it possible for people to enjoy themselves on the water
Q. What if we want to go sailing and can't find anyone to go with
A. I get several people every week who want to join up with other club members and go sailing. I am more than happy to put you on our list and give you a call if an opportunity arises.

From "Sailing in Light Air "

We're all spoiled here. Seriously spoiled. The wind blows hard and is as predictable as the tides. I've heard sailors saying "nah, I'm going to go mow the lawn, it's too flat out there." Yeah, right. Well, we ALL have to deal with light air, even in the summer months.

How many times have you sailed past the Bay Bridge and had the wind drop to 'nada?' It's a common occurrence, even on the windiest of days. Follow this link for some great light are tips and techniques to keep that boat moving through the calms.

First and foremost always try to keep the lee (leeward) bow to the current. This way you avoid the serious 'set' the massive currents here in San Francisco Bay can impart. Key to keeping the boat moving is keep is healing. You'll often see crew sitting on the leeward side in light air to keep her on her lines. Keep the boat healing also keeps the airfoil shape (because of gravity) in the sails.

When you set the boat up keep everything loose. You need to keep a lot of shape in the sail for them to work efficiently. The leading edge of both the main and the jib should be on the verge of scallops (little wrinkles) and the foot should be eased to allow the airfoil shape to be big and deep. If you have light air sheets for the jib, use them. Same with the main. This allows the sail to better react to minute velocity changes. The best look for each sail is a lot of twist at the head to keep the sail working along its entire length. Windshear has a huge effect in light air. Click on THIS LINK to read a lot more about sail shape. Very cool interactive graphics on this page too.

Once you get the boat moving key to keeping it moving is to use as little rudder as possible. Remember, the rudder is a brake. Each and every time you move it, the boat slows down.

Pretend you are moving in slow motion. Everything happens slow and easy. Even moving around on the boat can slow down your inertia. All tacking and gybing maneuvers should be done painfully slow. Remember, the speed you lose doing your maneuver takes much longer to regain in light air. The smoothest crew is the fastest crew.

Use THIS LINK to check what the wind is up to. There's a great archive on this site to see what's happened in the past. Also a great localizer is available. Just click on the specific location you are looking for and the software does the interpolation.

Have fun sailing in light air. It's fun, relaxing, warm and what nearly all of the other sailors in the world sail in daily. Be thankful for the wind we have!